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One of the region’s biggest youth sports organisations, the Rodney Otamatea Soccer Association (ROSA) has effectively folded over Covid vaccine requirements for children.
President Rachel Rewi said she and her committee had resigned last week rather than enforce government restrictions and the traffic light system in the coming season.
“We’ve got no club president and no committee because nobody wants to turn away young kids and mums and dads over an injection,” she said. “Nobody is prepared to tell little kids they can’t play soccer.”
While some local clubs are trying to work in and around the rules, which do include scope for those with and without a vaccine pass to play outdoor sport (see panels), Rewi said division on the ROSA committee made that impossible.
“I tried to float it with my committee that we ignore it, but I needed complete consensus and there were two people who were very pro-Ardern and the vaccine pass,” she said.
“It’s terrible. Our kids are the ones who are suffering.”
ROSA organises grade and open soccer for teams of all ages from Wellsford, Mangawhai, Matakana and Kaipara, with Saturday matches played at the Port Albert football fields by hundreds of children every year.
Rewi said if someone else was willing to step up and take over, or if the traffic light restrictions reduced, that would be welcome, but she was not overly optimistic. And she added that other children’s sports clubs were also suffering, such as Tomarata tag, youth rugby and netball.
“The feeling I get from my members is that people are just exhausted from all this s*** going on in our country,” she said. “I’ve got no confidence in this government that they will do the right thing and let our kids play sport.
“My son usually plays soccer in winter and tag in summer, but he’s had four months of sport in 18 months.”
Rewi said she would give it until September and then if no one had been found to take over at ROSA, the club would be dissolved.
“I personally won’t go back, I’ve done 12 years now,” she said.
However, she is supporting Sports Zone, a new weekly children’s sports day that started at the Port Albert fields on February 20.
“We had our first one on Sunday with soccer and tee-ball (a variation on softball) and there were 60 to 70 kids out there,” she said.
“It’s just a family environment with kids playing sports. We’re not asking any questions, we don’t know anybody’s medical status. We don’t like this two-class system, we’re just a blended bunch of people and we want to see our community rebuild. Everyone is scrambling to do the best that they can. We’re just there doing sports with our kids.”
Anyone who would like to step up to help resurrect ROSA should email Rewi on rosa.northland@gmail.com. For info on Sports Zone, email mrrwconsulting@gmail.com
Outdoor community sports
Outdoor community sport can go ahead at Red, with restrictions.
